Stock market game



Dec. 29, 1964 R. s. LINDSEY 3,163,424

STOCK MARKET GAME Filed Feb. 6. 1962 FIG. 1 1

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lllli i W United States Patent O 3,163,424 STOCK MARKET GAB E Richard S. Lindsey, 139 W. Gay St., West Chester, Fa. Filed Feb. 6, 1962, 591'. No. 171,516 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-135) This invention relates to a game apparatus and, in particular, to a game of buying and selling shares of stock under changing market conditions, receiving cash dividends, gaining control of all shares of a company, and otherwise making money on the imitation stock market.

Briefly described, the game begins with each of a plurality of players having a specified amount of money. In the first round each player buys shares of stocks as indicated by his roll of the dice. In succeeding rounds, each player buys or sells his shares according to changing prices set on the stock market board which reflects bullish and bearish market conditions. Concurrently, a player acts according to instructions printed on a series of cards which affect the individual player and his holdings or the entire group of players. Assets not controlled by the players are held by the Bank which loans money according to certain values afforded each certificate of stock. The game continues until the expiration of the time limit or upon the insolvency of a player. The winner of the game is the player with the most capital in the form of cash, par value of stock and sole owner worth.

The invention as disclosed herein, while entertaining and amusing, at the same time instructs and familiarizes the players with the various transactions and dealings which form the basis of activity of the worlds stock markets. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a game which, while accommodating a varying number of players, will realistically simulate the circumstances and conditions of investing and trading shares of capital stock in the business world.

In order that the principle of this invention may be readily understood, and other objects thereof more apparent, I have disclosed a single embodiment of this invention in the accompanying drawings, colors being indicated by the standard shading lines.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing one form of the stock market board of this invention with colored markings, openings and two slides;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the position slide shown as the top slide in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of index slide shown as the bottom slide in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a spinner board and pointer;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pair of ordinary dice colored as indicated;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views of stacks of buy and sell cards;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of two stacks of board action cards;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of two stacks of proxy cards;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing stacks of share certificates for the various companies listed on the stock market board according to various denominations; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing stacks of scrip face and the back face, are two sliding indicators, a position slide 12 and an index slide 13. The face of the board 10 has a plurality of openings 14 through which are seen 3,163,424 Patented Dec. 29., 1964 numbers and letters printed on the faces of the two slides 12 and 13. The openings 14 are arranged substantially in four lateral rows so that upon the positioning of the slides 12, 13, the numbers and letters printed thereon become visible. The center of the face of the board 10 is divided vertically into six groups of columns, each column having a symbol printed at the top thereof as representing a particular company, one red and one green in each group, with a figure located above the symbols expressing the par value of the stock of the companies designated by the symbols. The twelve companies listed on board 19 are as follows: SEA Food Co., LED Metals Co., AXL Motors, Inc., UGH Drug Co., COL Oils, TEL Phone Co., ROD Engines, GRN Grocers, Inc., PUH Chemicals, GUM Petrols, Inc., WAT Power Co., and BAR Steels, Inc. As shown in FIG. 1, the par value of each group of stocks varies and increases from left to right. The openings 14 are so arranged that there are two openings below each stock symbol within each column so as to provide a reading for each stock at all settings of the slides.

Also on the face of board 10 at the extreme'left handside and the extreme right-side are printed the words POSITION and INDEX. POSITION is printed in red some distance above the word INDEX which is printed in green. Directly below each word on either side of the board are two openings; a top opening 17 and a bottom opening 16. These openings allow the position numbers of the slides to appear therethrough as explained infra. On the left and right sides of the board are printed the 1 words BEARS and BULLS, respectively.

As described above, the board is equipped with two slid-- ing indicators 12, 13, that may be moved either to the right or left several inches from either side. The upper indicator 12, or position slide indicator, as shown in FIG. 2, has printed thereon in red a series of letters U (to denote up) and D (to denote down) in two columns extending laterally, such that the letters will appear inthe uppermost two transverse rows of openings 14 on the board. The numbers 1 to 6 printed in red on either lower side ascend on the left and descend on the right. The numbers are positioned to appear in openings 17 below the word POSITION on both sides of the board when a series of Us and Us appear in openings 14. The letters U and D are arranged in a certain pattern so that when a number appears in the left POSITION opening 17, i.e.,

the'BEARS side of the board, the majority of the upper openings 14 in the stock columns will show a D (down) with fewer openings showinga U (up). Conversely, when a number appears in the right POSITION opening 17, i.e., the BULLS side of the board, a majority of the openings will show a U and fewer will show a D.

The lower indicator 13, i.e., the index slide, as shown in FIG. 3, is very similar in arrangement and construction as the position slide 12. The numbers 1 through 6 printed in green on either lower side ascend on the left and descend on the right and appear in the two openings 16 on the board. Instead of lateral rows of letters, two columns of numbers from 2 to are spaced so as to appear inthe lower board openings 14 within the red and green columns of the stocks listed. With the exception of the number 2 all other numbers on the index slide are multiples of 5. The numbers are so arranged on index siide 13 that their particular values are never greater than the par value of any stock listing under which they might appear. Manipulating the two slides according to the rules of the game furnishes a fluctuating stock market for the trading of stock of twelve companies.

' The stock certificates 26, shown in FIG. 10, have the company names printed in red or green as the companies are listed on the board, and are marked in denominations 3 of one-share, fixe-share, and ten-share certificates. On the face of each certificate is printed the company name, the share denomination, a par value, a trust number, a sole owner number, a soleownership value, and a loan value. This information is more fully disclosed in table 4 distributed to the players as Well as the undistributed stock. The Bank taxes, and makes loans on stock.

In order to make a complete disclosure of the stock certifications and the information contained thereon, the

form below. The par value is an arbitrary figure representing the basic value of the stock. The trust number indicates the number of shares of stock representing a controlling interest in the company. The sole owner number is the total number of shares of stock issued by the company. The sole ownership value refers to the worth of the total stock issue of the company. The loan value indicates the amount of money that could be borrowed from the Bank on the particular stock certificate.

In this game common dice are used, with one colored red and the other green as shown in FIG. 5. They are rolled to set the board 10, in particular, the slides 12, 13,

' and they are rolled by each player in his turn to indicate the stock he may purchase or sell. When a double, such as two fours, is rolled by a player, the-spinner is used. In setting the board, the red die indicates the number at which the position slide is set to appear in openings 17' on one side of the board or the other- The green die indicates the number at which the index slide is set. Whether the position and/ or the index numbers appear on the BEARS or BULLS side of the board is determined, by a player prior to each round of play by a call. Position and index are called by announcing either or both as bearish or bullish, then the position slide indicates that the value, of any given stock is either U (up) or D (down) above or below par value; the index slide indicates the amount that the stock is above or below par value. Y

The spinner 2 2, as shown in FIG..4, is a square, fiat piece of cardboard or similar material, the face marked with a circle divided into six equal area wedges 24 and has a pointer 23 mounted free to rotate in the center. The six wedges 24 are printed with, PROXY twice in red, BOARD ACTION twice in green, REBATE $100, and REBATE $200 in black and white. PROXY refers to a stack of twelve cards colored red (shown in FIG. 9) labeled PROXY which have certain information and directions printed on one side. Said writings are reproduced herein infra. BOARD ACTIONrefers to vanother stack of twelve cards colored green (shown in FIG; 8) labeled such, carrying further information concerning 'paymentof'dividends, taxpayments, penalties,

or sell red or green stock listed on the board. Scrip, as,

shown in FIG. 11, is printed in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 dollars and is used as currency in the game. The Brokerage Bank holds all money not- In order to make a complete disclosure of the instructions and news appearing on the board action cards of FIG. 8 and the proxy cards of FIG. 9, without illustrating them in all detail in the drawings, I here set forth in their entirety all the instructions and all news items upon such cards.

Board Action Card Instructions l) DIVIDEND all playersGREEN stock-$l0/share,'

RED stock$5/ share.

(2) DIVIDEND all players$10 per each group.

(3) INVESTMENT TAX all players-$1 per share on each stock owned. 7

(4) REBATE-Bank pays you rebate of $150.

(5) DTVIDEND all players-GREEN stock-$5/share,

RED stock$10/share.

( 6) HOLIDAY-The STOCK MART is closed. Return the dice to the BROKER and start a new round of play.

(7) STOCK DlvlDEND GREEN stock1 share for each company owned. RED stock1 share of choice for each two companies owned.

(8) TAXES all players-$10 per each company stock owned.

(9) DIVIDEND all players-GREEN stock-$4 per share, RED stock$2 per share.

(10) NEW OFFERING-Y'ou may buy any GREEN stock at PAR 1 share limit.

(ll) STOCK DIVIDEND,You are entitled to choose 1 share of stock for each GROUP that you hold.

(12) RECALL OF STOCK-all players-Turn in 1 share of each RED stock to the BANK. Receive PAR 'value.

Proxy Card Instructions (1) RECALL OF STOCKall players-Return 1 share of each stock owned to BANK. The BANK will pay PAR value.

(2). TAXES- 311 players-$2 per share.

(3) STOCK DIVIDEND-You receive 1 share for each 2 GREEN companies. owned. 1 share for each 1 RED company owned.

(4) COMPANY DIV IDEND-Each player receives $10 for each company owned.

(5) EXTRA DIVIDENDall players-$2 per GREEN Company, $4 per RED company. v

(6) NEW OFFERINGYou may buy any stock of a RED company at PAR. S-share limit.

(7) CONGRATULATIONS-You have inherited 1 share of RED stock of your choice. Pay inheritance tax of $15 to the BANK.

(8) HOLIDAYThe STOCKMART is closed. Return the dice to the BROKER and begin a new round.

(9) HAPPY ANNIVERSARYEach player presents you with $5.

5 (10 REBATE-Receive $200 from the BANK. (11) LUCKY YOUYu inherit 2 shares of GREEN stock of your choice. Pay inheritance tax of $25 to the BANK. (12) BROKERS BIRTHDAY-Each player gives him Having fully described a specific form of the apparatus of this invention, the method of use and rules of play are now described herein:

The STOCKMART board is placed in the middle playing table along with the spinner, with the board action and proxy cards stacked face downwards in either side. Each player received a buy and sell card, one $500 bill, four $100 bills, three $50 bills, five $20 bills, five $10 bills, ten $5 bills, and five $1 bills. The remaining scrip and all the stock certificates are placed in the Brokerage Bank. A broker is chosen by rolling the dice. The highest number is the broker. The first player is the person sitting on the brokers left. The broker is the last player in a round and his duties include the handling of all bank transactions and taxes, and rolling the dice at the beginning of a round to set the board. As a player, his money and stock are kept separate from that of the bank.

On the first round all stocks are bought at par. Each player must buy at least one share of stock as indicated by his roll of dice as explained supra. Starting with the first player, each player rolls the dice in turn for a round. For example, the first player rolls a red 3 and a green 4. This indicates that he may buy shares of the red stock in Group III (COL Oils, Inc.) and the green stock in Group IV (GRN Grocers, Inc.). The next player may roll a red 1 and a green 6 and buy in SEA Food Co. and in BAR Steels, Inc. The first round is completed when each player has rolled the dice and purchased stock in turn.

At the beginning of each succeeding round the broker asks each player to declare his intention by placing his BUY and SELL cards on the table. Thus a green BUY card and a red SELL card would indicate that the player intended to sell his red stock and buy green stock. The broker then asks for the call. The call is made by the first player for the second round; by the second player on the third round, etc. The call determines where the position and index slides are to be set for the particular round of play. In making the call, the player might say, Position Bullish and Index Bearis This would mean that the number rolled on the red die would appear in the right position opening 17 and the number rolled on the green die would appear in the left index opening 16. When the call is made, the broker rolls the dice and the board remains at this setting for the round. The setting shown in FIG. 1, is position slide, position 3, bearish and index slide, position 4, bullish.

The first player then rolls the dice. Suppose he rolls a red 4 and a green 1, and that he has declared by his BUY and SELL cards that he will sell red stock and buy green stock. He must then trade at least one share of stock, both red and green, as indicated by the dice. For example, the dice and board show that he can sell his shares of ROD Engines at U $40, or $140 per share, and the bank buys the stock. If the player does not own this stock,'he may sell only one red stock that he owns according to the board setting. For example, he may have PUH Chemicals stock, one share of which he could sell for $160 per share. The green die shows that he can buy LED Metals stocks but will have to pay $35 per share. He must buy at least one share.

The player making the call for a round operates the spinner immediately after his regular. turn. Also if a player rolls a double, he operates the spinner immediately after his regular play has been completed. If the spin ner indicates PROXY or BOARD ACTION, the player reads aloud the printed instructions from the top card of the appropriate stack and returns the card to the bottom of the stack. The instructions may require each player to pay certain taxes on his stock, or direct the bank to pay dividends on stocks, etc. If the spinner indicates REBATE or REBATE $200, the bank pays that amount to each player as a rebate or salary. Players may borrow money from the bank by receiving a loan on their stock; the loan value is shown on each certificate. The stock is then turned face down and commands no dividends and cannot be traded until the loan plus 10% is paid to the bank.

A TRUST or controlling interest in a companycommands twice the regular dividends paid. In addition, in

his turn the holder may demand that all stock of that company be returned to the bank at par value, or he may attempt to buy or trade for the particular stock in the hands ofother players.

A SOLE OWNERSHIP or possession of all the stock issue of any one company by one person is worth somewhat more than the actual par value. When a player is a sole owner, the stock is automatically retired from the board and from active trading, unless the player elects to sell the stock back to the bank. If another player rolls the dice to indicate the retired stock, he has the privilege of selecting his next best buy or sale of stock as shown on the board.

The end of the game may be agreed upon as to a time limit or may be declared when a player becomes insolvent. The winner of the game is the player with the most capital in the form of cash, par value of stock and sole owner worth.

Having thus described one illustrative embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation as equivalent structure and arrangement may be substituted therefor, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as follows:

1. A game apparatus wherein a plurality of players simulate the trading of shares of corporate stock on a' stock market, said apparatus comprising a rectangular playing board having a series of openings arranged in substantially vertical columns and arranged to form top and bottom pairs of transverse rows across the face of the playing board. each vertical column of openings having indicia therewith identifying a particular company, the columns arranged in groups according to the par value of the stock of the particular company, a slide position opening located adjacent each pair of rows of openings proximate the sides of the board; two rectangular slides adaptedfor lateral movement behind the face of the playing board and positioned to be visible through the openings in said board,

the top slide having a series of indicia indicating either upward or downward movement of share prices, said indicia being visible in openings in the top transverse rows, the bottom slide having a series of indicia indicating the amount of increase or decrease in share prices, said indicia being visible in the openings in the bottom transverse rows, the indicia on both slides being greater in number than the number of openings in each transverse row, I each slide having a series of position numerals located adjacent the sides of the slides, said numerals positioned on the slides so as to appear.

in the slide position openings on the board; and

a pair of dice having numeral indicia on each face thereof, each die also having indicia associating said die with one of the two slides, the numeral on each die face corresponding to one of the position nur '2 merals on the associated slide whereby after the dice are rolled the slides are set in a certain position within the playing board with particular slide indicia visible through the openings in the face of theplaying board according to the numeral indicia visible on the upward face of each die.

2. The game apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the indicia on the top slide are arranged so that when a position numeral appears in the left side position opening on the board, the indicia appearing in the top rows of openings consist proportionally of a greater number of indicia indicating downward movement of share. prices than upward movement.

3. The game apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the indicia on the top slide are arranged so that when indicia indicating upward movement of share prices than downward movement.

References (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/53 Carran.

3/61 Corpening 273-134 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner,

JAMESv W. LOVE, Examiner. 

1. A GAME APPARATUS WHEREIN A PLURALITY OF PLAYERS SIMULATE THE TRADING OF SHARES OF CORPORATE STOCK ON A STOCK MARKET, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A RECTANGULAR PLAYING BOARD HAVING A SERIES OF OPENINGS ARRANGED IN SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL COLUMNS AND ARRANGED TO FORM TOP AND BOTTOM PAIRS OF TRANSVERSE ROWS ACROSS THE FACE OF THE PLAYING BOARD. EACH VERTICAL COLUMN OF OPENINGS HAVING INDICIA THEREWITH IDENTIFYING A PARTICULAR COMPANY, COLUMNS ARRANGED IN GROUPS ACCORDING TO THE PAR VALUE OF THE STOCK OF THE PARTICULAR COMPANY, A SLIDE POSITION OPENING LOCATED ADJACENT EACH PAIR OF ROWS OF OPENING PROXIMATE THE SIDES OF THE BOARD; TWO RECTANGULAR SLIDES ADAPTED FOR LATERAL MOVEMENT BEHIND THE FACE OF THE PLAYING BOARD AND POSITIONED TO BE VISIBLE THROUGH THE OPENINGS IN SAID BOARD, THE TOP SLIDE HAVING A SERIES OF INDICIA INDICATING EITHER UPWARD OR DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SHARE PRICES, SAID INDICIA BEING VISIBLE IN OPENINGS IN THE TOP TRANSVERSE ROWS, THE BOTTOM SLIDE HAVING A SERIES OF INDICIA INDICATING THE AMOUNT OF INCREASE OR DECREASE IN SHARE PRICES, SAID INDICIA BEING VISIBLE IN THE OPENINGS IN THE BOTTOM TRANSVERSE ROWS, THE INDICIA ON BOTH SLIDES BEING GREATER IN NUMBER THAN THE NUMBER OF OPENINGS IN EACH TRANSVERSE ROW, EACH SLIDE HAVING A SERIES OF POSITION NUMERALS LOCATED ADJACENT THE SIDES OF THE SLIDES, SAID NUMERALS POSITIONED ON THE SLIDES SO AS TO APPEAR IN THE SLIDE POSITION OPENINGS ON THE BOARD; AND A PAIR OF DICE HAVING NUMERAL INDICIA ON EACH FACE THEREOF, EACH DIE ALSO HAVING INDICIA ASSOCIATING SAID DIE WITH ONE OF THE TWO SLIDES, THE NUMERAL ON EACH DIE FACE CORRESPONDING TO ONE OF THE POSITION NUMERALS ON THE ASSOCIATED SLIDE HEREBY AFTER THE DICE ARE ROLLED THE SLIDES ARE SET IN A CERTAIN POSITION WITHIN THE PLAYING BOARD WITH PARTICULAR SLIDE INDICIA VISIBLE THROUGH THE OPENING IN THE FACE OF THE PLAYING BOARD ACCORDING TO THE NUMERAL INDICIA VISIBLE ON THE UPWARD FACE OF EACH DIE. 